[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5184-5185]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 101st 
anniversary of the Armenian genocide and honor the lives of 1.5 million 
Armenians who were killed between 1915 and 1923 by the Ottoman Empire. 
The Republic of Turkey, sadly, continues to try to silence the voices 
of the survivors and their descendants around the world, but we will 
never forget nor will we be intimidated into silence.
  Several years ago I told the foreign minister of Turkey, who is now 
the President, that Turkey must recognize the genocide and put this 
chapter of

[[Page 5185]]

history to rest. It is extremely frustrating that Turkey continues to 
ignore what really happened, but in addition to that, it is very 
disappointing and unacceptable that President Obama failed once again 
to call the murder of 1.5 million Armenians a genocide--because that is 
what it was.
  Recognizing the Armenian genocide is not something to be debated. The 
Europe Parliament has gone on record of recognizing the genocide, and 
last year Pope Francis spoke of the tragedy that took place, the 
Armenian genocide. Scholars and historians acknowledge that the 
systematic killings and deportations that took place constituted a 
genocide.
  I, however, simply do not have to rely on the word of historians. 
Growing up in the San Joaquin Valley in the Fresno area, I heard 
stories from my friends and neighbors, the Kezerians, the Abrahamians, 
and the Koligians, whose families experienced the horrors at the hands 
of the Ottoman Empire.
  As we reflect on this day, it is equally fitting to honor the 
hundreds of thousands of Armenian men and women who bravely began new 
lives in the United States after witnessing unspeakable tragedies to 
their families and in their villages. Survivors and their descendants, 
many of whom settled in California, have become bright examples of what 
it means to live the American Dream in their own diaspora.
  I would like to use this opportunity to tell you of an experience 
last Friday in Fresno. I had the distinct honor of participating in a 
wreath-laying event with leaders of the Armenian community and the 
Armenian National Committee of America, its national chairman, Raffi 
Hamparian.
  I want to take this opportunity to honor someone who brought a sense 
of justice to those who perished during that time. We want to recognize 
a true Armenian hero, Soghomon Tehlirian. As a part of Operation 
Nemesis, planned by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Soghomon 
Tehlirian assassinated Talaat Pasha, who was the last prime minister of 
the Ottoman Empire and the orchestrator of the Armenian genocide.
  This was an act of justice served on behalf of the Armenian people. 
Tehlirian was acquitted of the charges by a jury in Germany in the 
1920s and later moved to Serbia, and then to San Francisco, California. 
He died in 1960 and is buried at the Ararat Massis Armenian Cemetery in 
Fresno, California, which then was the only Armenian cemetery in the 
country.
  I hope my colleagues will join me and the Armenians throughout the 
Nation and throughout the world in honoring Mr. Tehlirian and to also 
pay tribute to the 1.5 million lives lost in the genocide--the first 
genocide in the 20th century--as well as their descendants who live 
today, for we must never ever forget the history. As Santayana once 
said: Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.


                               Denim Day

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, on a separate matter, I rise today to 
recognize Denim Day, which is observed in April throughout the world as 
being Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
  My staff today is wearing denim, joining other organizations 
throughout the district and throughout the Nation to raise the 
awareness about sexual violence prevention.
  I would like to commend the Valley Crisis Center in Merced, the 
Madera Community Action Partnership, and the Marjaree Mason Center in 
Fresno, and the San Joaquin Valley organizations for all that they do 
to support and serve the victims of sexual assault.
  Today, on Denim Day, and every day we stand with the victims and 
survivors, their families, and their friends to make everyone aware and 
to prevent the spread of sexual violence.

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